Tyler Eifert is a good tight end who is rarely healthy, but he does have a good matchup this week when his Cincinnati Bengals take on the Oakland Raiders.
We get it. The Cincinnati Bengals are one of the worst teams we’ve ever seen. Their 2019 team is poised to end up with the No. 1 overall pick, as Cincinnati has lost all nine of its games this season. They have benched Andy Dalton in favor of Ryan Finley as their starting quarterback the rest of the way. Starting Bengals in fantasy may not be fortuitous, but what about Tyler Eifert this week?
Eifert is the talented tight end that can play at a Pro Bowl level in the Bengals passing game. However, his promising career coming out of Notre Dame has sadly been derailed by injuries. Though they said before that starting Bengals in fantasy is not a good idea, there is a reason The Fantasy Footballers think it’s worthwhile to give Eifert a shot on Sunday vs. the Oakland Raiders.
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Oakland may have its AFC playoff dreams ahead of them, but they are still the Raiders, a team that will surrender a ton of passing yards every fall Sunday. Sure, starting Finley over a healthy Dalton is not going to translate into wins for Cincinnati, not that the Bengals were interested in winning anyway this year. But a young quarterback’s best security blanket his tight end.
Is Cincinnati going to win a game this year? The Bengals might win one, but that will be enough for them to get the No. 1 overall pick and draft LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow, Finley’s certain Bengals’ successor and Dalton’s long-term replacement. But for now, Cincinnati has seven more games to play, so the Bengals will play seven more games before heading into the offseason.
Thus far, Eifert has played in all nine games this season for the Bengals. He has only played in double-digit games twice in his NFL career and that came in his third season out of Notre Dame in 2015, coincidentally, the last time the Bengals reached the AFC playoffs. Eifert made his lone trip to the Pro Bowl that season.
So if you feel bold enough to start Eifert at tight end this week, you should do it. The Raiders aren’t a great secondary and somebody has to catch the ball from Finley, so it might as well be Eifert. Look for the Bengals to lose in Oakland, but maybe Eifert helps you win in fantasy if you’re in a tough spot with byes.